Safety-tread tile



Patented Dec. 139, i922.

career MILTON F. BEE-CHER, OF WORCESTER, T/IASSACHUSET TS, ASSIGNOR TO NORTON COM- PANY, OF YVORCE STER, 1'IASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

SAFETY-TREAD No Drawing. Application filed arm 6, 1921, Serial No.

TILE.

459,182. Renewed rie s, 1922. Serial No.

To (ail whom. it may concern.

Be it known that I, MILTON F. Bancnnu, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Worcester, in the county of \Vorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Tread Tiles, of which the following is a'full, clear, and exact specification. My invention relates to safety treads and .ll'lOl'G particularly to anti-slipping tread blocks or tiles which have high anti-slipping and Wear-resisting properties.

It has been proposed to make safety treads by embedding silicon carbide grains in concrete and similar plastic setting materials, but owing to the smoothness of the grains and the lack of chemical combinations between the silicon carbide and the embedding magma, the abrasive granules are not held securely in place under the abrasions of traliic and so do notform a permanently anti-slipping surface. It has also been proposed to incorporate isolated grains of silicon carbide in sintered and vitrified ceramic blocks in which the ceramic mate rial comprises the main body of the article and the grains are merely embedded therein, but such blocks offer only moderate resistance to slippage of footgear and are short lived as safety treads.

it is desirable, in order to make a satis factory safety tread tile, that the silicon carbide grains be bonded together into a porous mass which will present not only the sharp corners of the grains themselves but also the cuttin edges of pores for impeding the slipping of footgear thereon. In order to provide this porous condition, the grainsshould be united by ceramic materials which have been softened sufficiently to cause the bond to cling to the surfaces of the grains and leave open-pore spaces therehetween, the bond being in insufficient quantity to fill the pores. It is found, however, that silicon carbide tends to oxidize slightly at ceramic kiln, temperatures when in the presence of Va rious fused clay material's. Hence it is not desirable to employ bonding materials which become fused to a condition of low.

viscosity and which are capableof attacking the silicon carbide.

It is accordingly an object of my inventio to overcome such disadvantages and provide porous safety tread tile of ceramic bonded silicon carbide which will he durable, Wearresisting and retain its abrading anti-slipping characteristics for an indefinite period of time. Other objects will be apparent in the following disclosure.

In accordance with this invention, 1 provide a safety tread tile by bonding silicon carbide granules of suitable size with a ceramic bonding material of a porcelainic nature whichis heated to the stage of vitresceucc, but below the completely fusedglassy state. As a suitable bonding medium. l propose to I utilize a fine grained plastic refractory clay of a good color which fuses above the tem-' perature of the ceramic tiring operation and which will not react deletcriously upon the silicon carbide. I preferably utilize a clay of the ball clay type which fuses above cone 26. In order to modify the bonding properties of the ball clay and cause the bond '75. to have the proper viscosity at a desired temperature of firing and so produce the" porcelainic. condition, I combine thei ewitli various ingredients, such as feldspar and flint, in desired proportions, which depend upon the size of the grains and the hardness and bond strength desired in the tile. Such a porcelainic bond may be made up in the following proportions:

lfeldspar S0 to by weight. Ball clay 40 to 25% by weight. Flint 0 to 15% by Weight.

A. specific composition for one type of tile may be made up of the following ingredi ents:

Silicon carbide 67% by weight; Bond i 33% by Weight.

Bond com-position.

Feldspar; {55% Mississippi ball clay Since the abrasive and non-slip qualities of the tile, as well as its porosity and other physical characteristics, will'rdepend upon ltio cated b' a water absorption of from 5% to n .the specific example given, I preferably utilize 10% of eachof the grain sizes which will just pass through screens of 36,

4:6, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 120, 150 and 180 meshes to the linear inch 'A tile made of these proportions and grain sizes will have a durable and firmly bonded structure wit-h a water ab- 'sorption of from 8 to 10%, which is well adapted for use where the maximum antislipping qualities are desired.

tile may be made in accordance with suitable ceramic operations. The ingredients selected in accordance with the above example may be mixed with a desired quantity of water to render themass plastic and workable or capable of being formed in a The material is then molded to the desired shape and dried slowly until the dry press.

water issubstantially removed therefrom; after which the article may be fired in a ceramic kiln at a temperature approximat- -ing cone l2for a sufficient period of time to yitrify the bond to the vitrescent stage and beyond the initial stages of vitrification but not to the point of'being Vitreous or glassy. 1

In this condition the bonding materials fiow to some extent and unite because of surface tension with the surfaces of the crystalline grains, thus forming posts or webs between the grains where they are adjacent one an other and leaving the larger interstices open as-pores. Under these conditions the silicon carbide grain is not attacked and will not oxidize to anymaterial extent and so cause detrimental swelling and distortion of the tile which would be otherwise had,

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A safety tread tile comprising silicon carbide granules united into an integral porous mass with a porcelainic bond', the grains forming the major portion of the tile surface of the article.

2. A safety tread tile comprising silicon carbide grains integrally united by a porcelainic bond which has been fired to the vitrescent stage but is not glassy, said crystalline grains constituting substantially the whole body of the tile and being united by the bond into a porous structure.

3. A safety tread tile comprising silicon carbide grains and a porcelainio bond there- MILTON F. BEECHER.

fitness HAROLD R. SAVAGE. 

